HAVE YOUR SAY: Is a New York Rugby League team joining the RFL a good or bad idea?
Ricky Wilby was behind New York's application to join the RFL ranks
Rugby League fans have mixed feelings on the recent bid to for a New York team to enter the RFL in 2019.
A franchise in the Big Apple have submitted an application to join the professional ranks are prepared to start in League 1.
And social media has gone crazy since the news came out.
Comparisons with Canadian franchise Toronto Wolfpack have also been the talking point. Eric Perez’s Wolfpack finished their debut season with a promotion to the Championship for League 1.
And they averaged attendances of over 7,000 throughout the campaign.
A consortium of investors will also put a combed total of $10million into the franchise and they are confident in gaining crowds of over 10,000 at each game in their first season.
But the New York team would be based in the United States and will play in two-week blocks whereas the Wolfpack take longer stints in both England and Canada, usually a month.
New York will play their home games at the 25,000-capacity Red Bull Arena, which is also home to Major League Soccer outfit New York Red Bulls.
And there are even talks that a Super League fixture could be taken to the Big Apple, in a bid to get the game out there.
What do you think of a New York team joining the RFL? Let us know in the comments below.